Sacred Heart Students Join Effort To Transform Former Power Plant Into Coastal Park

FAIRFIELD, Connecticut (TXAN 24) — Sacred Heart University students and faculty are gaining hands-on research experience as part of an effort to transform a former fossil fuel power plant site into a publicly accessible coastal park.

Through a partnership with Manresa Island Corp., the university has received approximately $50,000 to support research, paid student internships, transportation and supplies connected to the restoration of more than 125 acres along Long Island Sound.

The former power plant operated on the Norwalk island for more than 60 years. The site is being developed into Manresa Wilds, a planned park focused on ecological restoration, environmental education and public access.

Sacred Heart is one of the founding partners of the Research & Education Station at Manresa Wilds, or R.E.S.A., alongside Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk, Wesleyan University and Norwalk Public Schools.

About 10 biology students are currently being paid to conduct research on the island. Projects include horseshoe crab research, salt marsh studies and bird monitoring.

Students are also incorporating the site into coursework covering restoration ecology, conservation biology and coastal biology.

For students such as Jamie Gaffney and Carolina Demarco, the project provides an opportunity to apply classroom lessons directly to a large-scale environmental restoration effort.

Researchers will also use acoustic recorders and machine learning to identify bird species on the island, while students studying salt marshes are measuring vegetation, collecting samples and planting additional marsh plants.

The partnership is giving students a firsthand look at how former industrial sites can be studied, restored and potentially transformed into community spaces.